As we reported earlier in the year, Google has been working on bringing the bookmarks bar to the Android version of Chrome. Now it has become a reality, with an update in Chrome 146 seeing the omnibus – or address bar – being given this capability at long last.
The company has long been on a mission to bring the mobile and desktop versions of the browser in line with each other, and this is another step towards that. But just how does the bookmark bar work on the smaller screen?
And here is the rub. Smaller screens will not be getting access to this handy browser feature. At the moment the precise criteria are not clear, but Google is limiting the availability of the bookmark bar to Android devices with larger screens.
You can check to see if this is an option for you by heading to Settings > Appearance > Show bookmarks bar.
The arrival of the bookmarks bar was first reported by 9to5Google which says:
Google is updating Chrome on Android tablets and foldables to be more like the desktop version by adding the bookmarks bar.
Like on desktop, the bookmarks bar appears below and spans the full width of the Omnibox. Favicons are accompanied by site names, with folders also appearing and opening inline.
A right-facing chevron at the end lets you view bookmarks that don’t fit, like folders, while “All bookmarks” opens the existing fullscreen browsing interface. Long-pressing on a bookmark will show the full URL.
Overall, this makes Chrome on large-screen Android devices more like the desktop version.
If you don’t see the option to enable the bookmarks bar, it means one of two things. Firstly, it could be that you do not have the latest version of the Chrome app installed – in which case you just need to head to the Google Play Store and install the update. Secondly, however, it could just be that Google has decided that the screen of your device is simply not big enough – and there is not a great deal you can do ab out that, short of heading out and buying something new and bigger!
Image credit: Juan Roballo / Dreamstime.com
